There are 13 Unesco World Heritage sights in 
Canada and 5 of them are in Alberta.  
Our incredible journey will visit four of these!
Origin: We arrange motor coach transportation or flight to the Edmonton International Airport

Day 1 Depart Edmonton for Jasper Alberta. We can include visits to the Canadian Petroleum Interpretive Center or the Devonian Gardens very near to Devon (adjacent to Edmonton) and see the historic spot where oil was discovered in Alberta! Or stop near Wabamun to see Canada’s largest coal mine operation and see some of the largest mining equipment in the world. We’ll then visit the power plant to see the coal being consumed and learn of the power that is generated. Where does this electricity go? Continue to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and arrive in Edson in time to tour a lumber mill. We learn about the lumber industry and the effect that the mills may have on the drinking water of cities downstream. Groups may wish to drive directly to Jasper (without stops) with driving time only 4 hours. Overnight in the first of our world heritage centers. Jasper, Banff, Kootenay and Yoho Parks together make up a Unesco Heritage sight.

Day 2 A highlight of the trip is hiking and exploring the trails that have made Jasper world famous. Alternatively we will meet and enjoy small group workshops with native Canadians and learn of the culture of Canada’s first people. This is a rare opportunity to step into another culture within our own back yard. We tour Maligne Lake, one of the jewels of the Rocky mountains. Later we hike Pyramid Lake and we can arrange bicycling and hiking through the nature trails in the area. See hidden lakes and wildlife while riding through primary forest. We’ll also see the lake where top-secret experiments were carried out in WWII. The allies need a way to safely get men and equipment across the Atlantic Ocean and an ingenious idea was hatched and tested in a lake right here. We’ll soak in the hottest hotsprings (53 degrees C) in Canada at Miette, in the Fiddle Valley. There is no better way to "get in touch" with Alberta. What a first day?

Day 3 Depart south on the Icefields Parkway. Stare in awe at the rush of water at Athabasca Falls. We ride a sno-coach onto the Columbia Icefield, the largest ice-cap south of the Arctic Circle (Sno-Coaches available mid-April through early November). What river(s) and oceans does this massive ice cube feed? How far does this water flow? What affect does the nearby continental divide play in the path this water will follow to the ocean? We’ll learn that the great glacier is receding 16 feet per year and is as tall as a hundred story building. Continue south to Banff, Alberta. World famous Lake Louise shines with an incredible aquamarine blue found only in the Canadian Rockies. Learn about rock flour and the cause of this amazing phenomenon. Overnight in Banff or Canmore.

Day 4 Continue to the west to visit the other half of the Unesco sight located in British Columbia. We cross the continental divide into Kootenay National Park. Kootenay is a great park with uncrowded, spectacular trails. We hike Fireweed Trail for a vivid lesson in forest ecology. Our path meanders through the area that was swept by a forest fire in 1968. Rather than being a desolate walk it is fascinating to see life bountifully springing forth. See Magenta Fireweed, flowers. Trembling Aspen and Lodgepole Pine. Some Lodgepole cones are only opened by the extreme heat of a forest fire and are thus the beginning of reforestation. We’ll see this close up! Near Storm Mountain we could see moose, Blue Grouse, northern Hawkowls and various other animals. Our next adventure finds us in Marble Canyon with its scalloped limestone walls, carved out by Tokumm Creek. Cross First Bridge in Prospectors Valley and then Second Bridge where the canyon narrows. See the Salad Bowl below which has been hewn by eons of rushing water. Cross 5 more bridges (two high bridges) to marvel at a 69 foot waterfall and continue to the eerie Paint Pots. Hike past ochre beds, which are colored red-brown by mineral deposits and used for decades as pigment for paint. See the "choked cone" (dried up heap of iron oxide) before standing before the circular green pools of water. Return to the motor coach for the 65-minute journey south to Forte Steele, an authentically restored fur trading post. We end the day in the Radium hotsprings pools. Situated at the base of a mountain sheep can often be seen grazing the slopes. Overnight nearby

Day 5 Continue to the west to visit the other half of the Unesco sight located in British Columbia. We cross the great continental divide into Kootenay National Park. Kootenay is a great park with uncrowded trails that are even more accessible than the trails in Jasper and Banff. We hike Fireweed Trail for a vivid lesson in forest ecology. Our path meanders through the area that was swept by a forest fire in 1968. Rather than being a desolate walk it is fascinating to see life bountifully springing forth. See Magenta Fireweed, many flowers, trembling Aspen and Lodgepole Pine. Some Lodgepole cones are only opened by the extreme heat of a forest fire and are thus the beginning of reforestation. We’ll see this close up! Near Storm Mountain we could see moose, Blue Grouse, northern Hawkowls and various other mountain dwellers. Our next adventure finds us in Marble Canyon with its scalloped limestone walls, carved out by Tokumm Creek. Cross First Bridge in Prospectors Valley and then Second bridge where the canyon narrows. See the Salad Bowl below, which has been hewn by eons of rushing water. Cross 5 more bridges (two high bridges) to marvel at a 69-foot waterfall and continue to the eerie Paint Pots. Hike past ochre beds, which are colored red-brown by mineral deposits and used for decades as pigment for paint. See the "choked cone" (dried up heap of iron oxide) before standing before the circular green pools of water. Return to the motor coach for the 65-minute journey south to Forte Steele, an authentically restored fur trading post. We end the day in the Radium hotsprings pools. Situated at the base of a mountain sheep can often be seen grazing the slopes. Overnight nearby

Day 6 Back into Alberta we stop in beautiful Banff. Groups touring in April and early May can choose to ski for a day at Sunshine Ski resort. Depart to the southeast to visit our next Unesco world heritage sight "Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump" near Fort Macleod.. See the spot where thundering herds of Buffalo were stampeded to their deaths. An ingenious start to the world’s original slaughter house! Natives then carved meat, hides and bone into the essentials of life. Today the bones of thousands of years of buffalo bones are piled 10 meters high!! Near the Crowsnest pass is the town of Frank. It is here that a catastrophe occurred in 1903 involving 92 million tons of rock. Continue to Cardston, home of the Remington Alberta Carriage Center to see how Albertans transported themselves a century or more ago. The Fay Wray fountain is dedicated to Cardston’s most famous citizen-actress. Continue to another of Alberta’s World heritage sights and the sight of the world’s first international peace park. We visit Waterton Park.

Day 7 We have the day for hiking. Waterton park harbors 1,200 species of plant and animal life, and deep glacial lakes. Rolling prairies collide with jagged mountains in a breathtaking menage of color and form. We have time to partake of a waterline shore cruise (May through October) and will hike Red Rock Canyon where photo opportunities abound. We have a good chance to see deer and sheep on the hike to lovely Blakiston Falls. Time permitting we will see the "oldest exposed rock in the Canadian Rockies" on Cameron Falls Drive.

Day 8 After breakfast our motor coach takes us east to "Writing on Stone Provincial Park" to visit to see the continent’s largest collection of petroglyphs. The latter part of the day will find us hiking the Hoodoo trails. Step into one of North America’s great dinosaur museums and learn of the geology and topography of our great province. Dinosaurs roamed this area millions of years ago and then vanished forever from the face of the earth. Why? See the equivalent of Tyranosaurus Rex (Albertosaurus) and the gigantic fossil of a fish that had just swallowed another fish. This museum has the largest collection of large full dinosaur skeletons in the world. Time permitting we visit the Reptile World where we can wave at a real Alberta Rattlesnake? Can rattlesnakes really live in Alberta? Transfer to Edmonton or Calgary for the flight home.

Other Things to do:  There are hundreds of walking trails throughout Jasper and Banff National Parks. We can visit the American side of Waterton Peace Park on the "Highway to the Sun" road, step into Fort Whoop-up near Lethbridge and learn of its colorful past, drive to Medicine Hat and the oasis of splendid serenity at Japanese Nikka Yuko Gardens.